The M17 Protective Mask is a series of gas masks that were designed and produced in 1959 (as a replacement of the M-9 gas mask) to provide protection from all types of known chemical and biological agents present. The M-17 was issued to troops in the Vietnam war, and was standard issue for the U.S Army until it was replaced by the M-40 in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The mask has different components including a filter, a face piece and outserts.. Filter elements in the face piece prevent harmful agents from entering the mask.. The M17 series includes three types of masks, the M17, M17A1 and M17A2. An experimental transparent-silicone model was designed in 1966, but was turned down. Many countries have copied the M-17 design..Notable copies include the Bulgarian PDE-1, the Polish Mp-4, the East German M10M and the Czech M-10..The mask offers protection from harmful agents, but does not function properly in places where oxygen content is low.. The mask is not meant to be used for firefighting and does not provide protection from radiation. It is recommended that users continue wearing it until the biological or chemical agent is identified and cleared from the contaminated area..The M-17 series protective masks were phased out in the 1990s,replaced by the M40 Field Protective Mask..

Quote:

The sulfur mustards, or sulphur mustards,commonly known as mustard gas, are a class of related cytotoxic and vesicant chemical warfare agents with the ability to form large blisters on the exposed skin and in the lungs. Pure sulfur mustards are colorless, viscous liquids at room temperature. When used in impure form, such as warfare agents, they are usually yellow-brown in color and have an odour resembling mustard plants, garlic, or horseradish, hence the name. Mustard gas was originally assigned the name LOST, after the scientists Wilhelm Lommel and Wilhelm Steinkopf, who developed a method for the large-scale production of mustard gas for the Imperial German Army in 1916..Mustard agents are regulated under the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC)..3 classes of chemicals are monitored under this Convention, with sulfur and nitrogen mustard grouped in Schedule 1, as substances with no use other than in chemical warfare.. Mustard agents could be deployed on the battlefield by means of artillery shells, aerial bombs, rockets,Vehiculls or by spraying from warplanes.. Mustard gas has extremely powerful vesicant effects on its victims. In addition, it is strongly mutagenic and carcinogenic, due to its alkylating properties. It is also lipophilic. Because people exposed to mustard gas rarely suffer immediate symptoms, and mustard-contaminated areas may appear completely normal, victims can unknowingly receive high dosages..Mustard gas vapour easily penetrates clothing fabrics such as wool or cotton, so it is not only the exposed skin of victims that gets burned. If the victim's eyes were exposed then they become sore, starting with conjunctivitis, after which the eyelids swell, resulting in temporary blindness..A British nurse treating soldiers with mustard gas burns during World War I commented..They cannot be bandaged or touched. We cover them with a tent of propped-up sheets. Gas burns must be agonizing because usually the other cases do not complain, even with the worst wounds, but gas cases are invariably beyond endurance and they cannot help crying out..The Bushmaster M17S is a semi-automatic bullpup rifle that was manufactured by Bushmaster Firearms International from 1992 until 2005..The design of the M17S dates back to 1986 when the Australian company Armtech Ltd. developed the prototype as a prospective military rifle for the Australian Army...